Jamie Samuelsen's blog: Has LeBron James gone from hated to liked?

5:04 AM, March 21, 2013

Miami Heat's LeBron James (6) reacts after scoring in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, in Cleveland. James scored a team-high 25 points in Miami's 98-95 win. / Tony Dejak/AP

Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the ďJamie and WojoĒ show at 6 p.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter @jamiesamuelsen and read more of his opinions at freep.com/jamie.

The Miami Heat host the Detroit Pistons on Friday. Have the Heat gone from most hated to likeable with this current winning streak?

Itís been quite a year for LeBron James.

12 months ago, James was still without an NBA Championship ring. And other than the night he poured in 48 at the Palace, he really didnít have too many defining moments in his career. Nobody could question his ability or his standing amongst the best players in the game. But his legacy was still very much in question, especially following ďThe DecisionĒ and the six-game loss to the Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.

A year later, all of that has changed.

Heís the undisputed greatest player in the game. He was the Finals MVP as the Heat took out the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals last June. He led Team USA to another gold at the Summer Olympics in London. And now this season, heís putting together his masterpiece. He had a stretch of six games earlier this year when he scored at least 30 points while shooting 60 percent from the field. Thatís unheard of for a scorer who does so much of his damage on the perimeter. And now he and the Heat have won 24 straight games and appear to have a legitimate chance to break one of the most hallowed records in sports, the 1971-72 Lakers 33-game winning streak. It wonít be easy (an March 31st game in San Antonio appears to be a large impediment). But the way this team is playing, it seems very possible.

And the weirdest part of all, the sports nation we live in doesnít seen totally opposed to this. I for one am rooting for the Heat to break it.

Donít get me wrong, a majority of people still donít care for LeBron and the Heat. They will never forgive him for the ill-fated ďDecisionĒ and for the fact that he and Dwyane Wade assembled their own super team. SI.com did a poll on Tuesday asking fans if they were rooting for the Heat to break the Lakers record. And 60 percent of the people still answered Ďnoí. But think about that number. 60 percent? If they had taken that poll in the summer of 2010, it would have been roughly 99.9 percent (give or take). The Heat were the most hated team in sports. James was the biggest villain. Instead of being cheered in every arena he entered, he was booed.

But over the last year, thatís changed for some people. And itís changed for me. Instead of loathing James, I kind of like him. Instead of rooting against him every time out, Iím starting to pull for the guy. This became clear Monday night as the Heat rallied from 13 down in the fourth quarter to win at Boston. James led the way with 37 points including the game-winning jumper with 10.5 seconds remaining. After he hit the shot, he pounded his chest and kind of high-stepped back to the Miami bench. The Celtic fans didnít loudly boo or throw things. Instead there was kind of a stunned silence and a begrudging respect. The same sound we heard in the Palace on that fateful May night in 2007 when LeBron James essentially put a nail in the Pistons coffin. He was never the same after that night. And neither were the Pistons.

I think three factors are fueling a small groundswell of support for James.

First is the whole front-runner status. No matter where you went in the 80s and the 90s, youíd find Lakers fans or Celtics fans or Bulls fans. Youíre always going to find fans that root for the very best team. And thereís little doubt anymore that the Heat are the very best team. (Youíre always going to have fans that root against the very best team as well. Thatís the Yankee/Duke factor. And that will continue to plague the Heat)

Second is the true love of greatness. Fans rooted for Tiger Woods because they wanted to see the greatest golfer in history break Jack Nicklausí record. They rooted for Michael Jordan for similar reasons. And now James has entered that stratosphere. Iím a strong believer that Jordan is the greatest player in basketball history, but even I have to admit that the Jordan/James debate is becoming more legitimate by the day. And by the ring.

And finally, fans just like to see history made. Many basketball followers werenít alive or were infants when the Lakers won 32 in a row. Weíve read about the great LA team led by Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West. But we didnít see it with our own two eyes. Just like fans got behind Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998 (not knowing the artificial nature of the chase), fans want to see the Heat make history. The hatred of James and Wade has dissipated. And now, most fans can appreciate the greatness of what youíre watching.

Of course this doesnít apply to everyone. Plenty of you will hate the Heat for a long time to come. But one day, I promise you, youíll look back and appreciate what you saw. When I was a kid, I hated Magic Johnson because the Lakers always killed my beloved Golden State Warriors. Now, looking back, I appreciate just how great he was. And I wish I had appreciated him more when he was on top of his game. I canít tell you to appreciate LeBron James. Iím just telling you that one day, you will. Might as well be now when heís on top of his game.